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the free on-line newsletter which gives you the tools and strategies
to achieve greater success at work and at home.
“If
your life is free of failures, you’re not taking enough risks.”
Anonymous
RISK:
What do you think of when you hear the word “risk”? Something dangerous? foolish?
outrageous? Risk can be all of
those things; but it needn’t be.
WHY RISK
IT?:
The answer is very simple: To
achieve or get anything we want in life requires risk. To improve
your career, relationship, life; to grow; to escape from a bad
situation…all require risk.
To learn to walk,
ride a bike, get a job, get married (or divorced)…all involve
risk. And yes, to stay where
you are, maintain the status quo…... that, too, involves risk: the risk
of boredom, frustration, disappointment, self-recrimination.
FEAR and RISK:
So why
are so many of us reluctant to take a risk? In a word, Fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of
failure, fear of success, and the list goes on. Fear means that
taking a risk is seen as, well frankly, too risky. Taking a risk often feels like
taking a chance. But
there’s a real difference.
Taking a chance is
gambling. It’s playing
the market rather than investing.
It’s taking a flyer on a deal without doing your
homework. It’s acting without a strategy or plan.
Taking a risk
requires thought, planning and focus. Mountain climbers, skydivers
and Nascar drivers all plan in meticulous
detail analyzing many factors before committing themselves to
action. And when they do act,
they execute a carefully prepared plan and stick to it. They’re
taking a risk but leaving as little as possible to chance.
STRATEGY FOR
SUCCESS:
The best way to maximize a successful outcome when taking a risk
is to develop a strategy and stick to it. A strategy I use
and recommend to my coaching clients is: V-GAS: Vision;
Goals;
Action
plan: Stay the course. It’s a strategy that fits just
about any risk you might take at home or at work.
Vision: Visualize and conceptualize your endeavor as it
will exist when you’re successful.
Goals: Set short and long term goals which will help you
realize your vision.
Action plan: Develop a plan to get from here to there.
Break your plan down into small concrete doable steps.
Stay the course: Expect obstacles, meet and overcome
them. Be self supportive and accountable for sticking to your plan.
Pretty simple really. The
key is to actually do it. If you’ve been contemplating a new
endeavor or a change but haven’t gotten started; or,
you’re stalled midstream, get some help. A fresh perspective, an objective
sounding board, someone you’re accountable to might make all
the difference.
RISK-TAKING
TOOLS:
Here are several tools you can use to make your V-GAS strategy
work:
- Gather as much information
as possible. The more you know, the better you can
prepare. The better you
prepare, the greater the odds of success.
-
Imagine the worst case
scenario. Predict the
worst outcome and plan how to deal with it. Knowing how you’ll cope
makes disaster seem less scary.
Remember failure is often part of success. Even Barry Bonds and Sammy
Sosa strike out sometimes; but, to hit balls out of the park
they have to keep stepping up to the plate.
-
Talk to other people about the risk. Try it on for size with as
many people as you can before you commit to doing it. You’ll get other
perspectives and see how your idea sounds to you when you try it
out with others.
-
Write out a plan of action.
How will you get from where you
are to where you want to go?
Explain your plan to someone. If you can’t explain
it, you need to go back to the drawing board and figure it out
more concretely.
-
Take the first step. No one climbs a
mountain in one giant leap.
It takes many individual small steps. It’s the same with most
undertakings. The most important
step is the first one.
RISK in the
NEW YEAR:
The start
of a new year brings with it the promise of a new beginning, a fresh
start. This year, in stead of
making resolutions, take a risk. A resolution is the intention to
make something happen; a risk is the attempt to make something
happen.
Take a risk at taking a risk.
As George Elliott wrote “It’s
never too late to be the person you might have been.” The psychological cost of
taking a risk can be high. The
cost of not taking a risk can be much higher.
